Joyner joins museum board

by Shannon Rae Gentry

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Staff photo by Joshua Curry

Blayne Joyner is one of the newest board members to serve the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History.

Blayne Joyner is one of three newly appointed board members at the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History who will be welcomed at his first meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 26, along with Susan Creasy and Michael Kingoff.

Museum director, Madeline Flagler, said earlier this month, “We didn’t have someone who was in the banking field and Blayne Joyner fits that profile. I’ve worked with him before and knew that he was really interested in the beach and Wrightsville Beach history.”

Flagler said evaluating what demographic or profession that may be lacking representation on the board helped identify new members.

In an interview on Wednesday, Feb. 13, Joyner said he met Flagler via the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Wilmington program, which helps local schools and organizations complete projects by providing funding and volunteers.

“The project that I worked on was with Wrightsville Beach Museum,” Joyner said. “We did some painting, including the decks and boat outside. … I got to work with Madeline quite a bit … and she reached out to me to help with this.”

As a University of North Carolina Wilmington alumnus and former baseball player for the Seahawks, Joyner has remained active with the team and said he was compelled to stay in the area after graduating, rather than move back to Durham, his hometown.

“I spent a lot of time over in Wrightsville Beach ... I loved the beach, the water and sun,” he said. “But I do have a great appreciation of the history of the island and just enjoy soaking up any knowledge I can. Once this place grabs hold of you, it never lets you go, and I’m totally fine with that.”

Now, as a community banker at the First Citizens Bank in Porters Neck, Joyner said he is excited for the opportunity to serve the museum, and thinks his strong suit could be in organizing museum events and fundraisers like the Jingle Bell Run.

“I just want to get acclimated at that first meeting and just jump from there,” he said. “Hopefully I can help organize those [events] and bring in some new sponsors.”

The Wrightsville Beach Museum of History is free to the public and open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.